Racism isn’t just a problem in the South – it seems to be a problem wherever Republicans congregate. Daniel Donovan whose most recent “failure to prosecute” in the Eric Garner choking death, has propelled his image with Republicans in NY as “their man” to defend the white right. Strong support, especially from loudmouth racists like Rudi Guliani recalls an earlier time when politicians joined the KKK as a sign to racist voters they were “true patriots”. These folks will support, encourage and defend murder…As long as the victim is black and the murderer is white through any means necessary including ripping up the law. Donovan, like his counterpart in the Ferguson case, plotted and intended to throw the case… And for that Republicans in his area are willing to defend him.

Staten Island District Attorney Daniel Donovan, who gained national attention for failing to bring an indictment against the police officer who killed Eric Garner, said Friday that he will run for Congress to fill the seat vacated by Rep. Michael Grimm (R-N.Y.).

In a statement, Donovan said that since he first announced that he was “seriously considering” a congressional bid in the 11th District, he has received an outpouring of support.

“Last week I announced that I would seriously consider running for the vacant Congressional seat in the 11th Congressional District of New York,” said Donovan. “I made that announcement after a 24 hour period in which my phone never stopped ringing with expressions of enthusiastic support from elected officials, party leaders, and residents of Staten Island and Brooklyn. … In the week since my last announcement the enthusiasm for my candidacy has only broadened and intensified, with expressions of support also from beyond the two boroughs.”

Donovan has received strong public support from New York Republicans, such as former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, and is considered the frontrunner for the GOP nomination. In response, however, some Republicans began warning that Donovan was an unwise choice, due to his role in the Garner case.

Garner, an unarmed African-American man, died on July 17 in Staten Island after police officer Daniel Pantaleo put him in a chokehold and pushed him to the ground in order to arrest him for selling untaxed cigarettes. Garner repeatedly said “I can’t breathe” before he died.

Although the scene was captured on video by a bystander, a Staten Island grand jury decided on Dec. 3 not to indict the police officer, sparking nationwide protests. A significant amount of ire has been directed at Donovan for not pushing harder to get an indictment.

George Zimmerman, a former neighborhood watch volunteer acquitted in a fatal shooting of an unarmed black teenager in 2013, was charged with aggravated assault on Saturday after his arrest in connection with a domestic disturbance in Florida.

Zimmerman, wearing a blue jumpsuit and handcuffs, appeared before Florida Circuit Judge John D. Galluzzo who offered him a $5,000 bond, ordered him to turn over any firearms and restricted his travel to Seminole County in central Florida.

“Anywhere else in the state and we have a problem,” the judge said.

Zimmerman’s lawyer, Don West, could not immediately be reached for comment.

In February 2012, Zimmerman gained national notoriety by claiming he acted in self-defense when he shot and killed Trayvon Martin, 17, during a neighborhood watch patrol in Sanford, Florida.

His trial and acquittal in 2013 polarized the U.S. public on issues of race, gun laws and drew international attention to Florida’s “stand your ground” law.

Zimmerman has since had several brushes with the law.

Police in central Florida arrested him in November 2013 after he allegedly pointed a gun at his girlfriend during an argument. A month later, prosecutors dropped the charges, saying his girlfriend, Samantha Scheibe, withdrew allegations.

One of the common misconceptions out there is that DWB only affects young black males. Looking at the number of stops by Police in some areas and the vast differential between black motorists being stopped and whites… It really is an issue which cuts across all economic, professional, and educational lines. The anger and frustration being expressed by the tens of thousand marching in the streets isn’t just about the murder of young black men like Trayvon Martin, Eric Garner, and Mike Brown – it is about systemic discrimination which impacts the lives of many black Americans.

Though the developers of the soon-to-be released “Driving While Black” smartphone application want motorists to download their product, there is a time when they definitely don’t want users searching for it.

“Do not reach for your phone when you are talking to police,” stressed Melvin Oden-Orr, one of two Portland lawyers creating the app.

Avoiding moves that could make police think you’re reaching for a gun is just one tip included in the app that educates drivers about how to safely deal with police during traffic stops.

Despite its attention-grabbing name, Oden-Orr said the app due for release in late December will provide common sense advice to motorists of all races and outline what civil rights you have during a stop. With the phone hopefully in a hands-free device, the app allows drivers to send an alert to friends and family that they have been pulled over. There’s also a recording function to document the interaction with an officer.

The app is coming to market as protesters around the country keep attention on instances of deadly encounters with police in Ferguson, Missouri, and New York City. Similar apps also are aimed at helping people navigate interactions with police.

Three Georgia teenagers created “Five-O,” an app released this summer that lets people rate their interactions with law enforcement. And last month, American Civil Liberties Union affiliates in four states unveiled “Mobile Justice,” an app that allows users to take video of police encounters and upload the video to the ACLU. It’s modeled on “Stop and Frisk Watch,” an app released for New Yorkers in 2012.

“It’s obviously in the forefront of everybody’s mind; the police know they are being recorded and people in public know they can record,” said Sarah Rossi, director of advocacy and policy for the ACLU Missouri affiliate. “I think the benefit of this app (Mobile Justice) specifically is it goes straight to the ACLU and we can review it for any due-process violations.”

The apps also include a “Know Your Rights” section that informs people about their rights when contacted by police.

Portland attorney Mariann Hyland got the idea for “Driving While Black” after learning of an app for drivers suspected of drunken driving. She approached Oden-Orr in April, and the two have been working on the app since summer with software developer James Pritchett.

The term “driving while black,” perhaps unfamiliar to some, is common among African-Americans. A Justice Department report released last year, based on a survey of those stopped by police in 2011, suggests blacks are more likely than whites to be pulled over and have their cars searched. Moreover, African-Americans are much more likely to believe a traffic stop is not legitimate…

For you youngsters, 1963 was the year the Civil Rights Movement spawned the anti-War Movement. Literally millions of people were marching in the streets.

In that 1963 March, SNCC Chairman, now Congressman John Lewis had a few things to say –

SNCC Chairperson John Lewis, whose speech was considered so militant that the lead organizers requested he revise it. His original draft states, “We march today for jobs and freedom, but we have nothing to be proud of, for hundreds and thousands of our brothers are not here. They have no money for their transportation, for they are receiving starvation wages or no wages at all.

“In good conscience, we cannot support wholeheartedly the administration’s civil rights bill, for it is too little and too late. There’s not one thing in the bill that will protect our people from police brutality.”

Lewis also generated controversy when he stressed, “We are now involved in a serious revolution. This nation is still a place of cheap political leaders who build their careers on immoral compromises and ally themselves with open forms of political, economic and social exploitation. What political leader here can stand up and say, ‘My party is the party of principles?’ The party of Kennedy is also the party of [racist Mississippi Senator James] Eastland. The party of [Republican Senator Jacob] Javits is also the party of [rightist Senator Barry] Goldwater. Where is our party?”

It is coming again. This isn’t growing into a movement just to stop police murder and brutality…